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Andrews DJ, Barabash S, Edberg NJT, Gurnett DA, Hall BES, Holmström M, Lester M, Morgan DD, Opgenoorth HJ, Ramstad R, Sanchez-Cano B, Way M, Witasse O. Plasma observations during the Mars atmospheric "plume" event of March-April 2012. J Geophys Res Space Phys 2016; 121:3139-3154. [PMID: 29552437 PMCID: PMC5854877 DOI: 10.1002/2015ja022023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We present initial analysis and conclusions from plasma observations made during the reported "Mars plume event" of March - April 2012. During this period, multiple independent amateur observers detected a localized, high-altitude "plume" over the Martian dawn terminator [Sanchez-Lavega et al., Nature, 2015, doi:10.1038/nature14162], the cause of which remains to be explained. The estimated brightness of the plume exceeds that expected for auroral emissions, and its projected altitude greatly exceeds that at which clouds are expected to form. We report on in-situ measurements of ionospheric plasma density and solar wind parameters throughout this interval made by Mars Express, obtained over the same surface region, but at the opposing terminator. Measurements in the ionosphere at the corresponding location frequently show a disturbed structure, though this is not atypical for such regions with intense crustal magnetic fields. We tentatively conclude that the formation and/or transport of this plume to the altitudes where it was observed could be due in part to the result of a large interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) encountering the Martian system. Interestingly, we note that the only similar plume detection in May 1997 may also have been associated with a large ICME impact at Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J Andrews
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Uppsala), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - S Barabash
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Kiruna), Kiruna, Sweden
| | - N J T Edberg
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Uppsala), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - D A Gurnett
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - B E S Hall
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - M Holmström
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Kiruna), Kiruna, Sweden
| | - M Lester
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - D D Morgan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - H J Opgenoorth
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Uppsala), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - R Ramstad
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Kiruna), Kiruna, Sweden
| | - B Sanchez-Cano
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - M Way
- NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-751 20, Uppsala, Sweden
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